Commonwealth of Monteverde
NOTE: Most Roleplay takes place in the Commonwealth of Monteverde. Following the Revolution of Colonial Independence, the Commonwealth of Monteverde established itself as an important center for continental trade. It serves as a buffer state between the Elven Confederacy to the West and the Republic of Alexandria to the East. Therefore, it attempts to keep the peace between the two rival countries to avoid becoming a battlefield. History The Republic of Alexandria is an old power, and it held many colonies. Monteverde was one of such colonies, serving as a buffer state between the Elven Confederacy and the Republic of Alexandria. It was maintained as a demilitarized zone as per the mandate of the Treaty of Knives, which kept the longest period of peace between The Republic and the Confederacy to date. However, Monteverde was very different than its imperial host. The humans in Monteverde spoke a different language, observed different holidays, and were generally closer to a humanized form of the Elven culture than they were to the more human Alexandrian culture. Out of racism, the residents of Monteverde were often neglected, and it was often kept as a landfill for the pariahs of Alexandrian society. When the Elven Confederacy was weakened by the Green Death, which only affects elves, the Republic of Alexandria prepared to expand their borders further west and into Elven territory. As a result, Monteverde began to be militarized rapidly. Monteverde, however, tired of their being oppressed by Alexandria, used the weapons to fight against their colonizers instead of against the elves. This became one of the wars of Colonial Independence. The Revolution of Colonial Independence The Revolution of Colonial Independence in Monteverde was the second of its kind, but arguably the most important since it started a domino effect that eventually led to the collapse of The Republic of Alexandria as an Imperial Power. When the Elven Confederacy was struck by the Green Death, it was weakened severely. Elves would die of an illness that seemed to change its symptoms, but always ended the same way: turning the skin of the dead elf green. Eventually, the green-skinned elves would come back to life as undead, and attack their own people. The Republic of Alexandria took this as an opportunity to try and expand their borders into the Elven Confederacy with the goal of world domination. However, The Republic of Alexandria was separated from Monteverde, a colony of Alexandria at the time, by an ocean, and Monteverde was separated from the Elven Confederacy by a thick jungle. Since Monteverde was demilitarized due to the agreement between the Alexandrians and the Elves, the Alexandrian President of the time decided to arm the local and expendable Monteverde population for use in the conquest. When the weapons arrived, the people of Monteverde turned themselves against Alexandria. Using the resources to arm themselves and build defenses, and with a secret pact with the Elves that has since expired, the people of Monteverde tricked the Republic of Alexandria into sending in reinforcements. Prepared, Monteverde turned against their colonial masters upon their arrival. Monteverde secured its victory with the attack, as it encouraged the other colonies of Alexandria to declare independence as well. With the armies of Alexandria divided and spread around the world, after a seventeen year war, it finally signed a treaty with Monteverde and other colonies recognizing them as independent nations. The Communist Revolution One-hundred and thirty years after achieving their independence, the Commonwealth of Monteverde saw an increase in Alexandrian refugees. As an attempt to topple the government, Alexandria had started to exile communist agitators to Monteverde so that they could organize a rebellion. At the time, the nobility in Monteverde held all the power, with every member of every government agency being appointed by the nobility which held the highest political offices. However, the majority of the population were commoners who felt that the government were using them as resources to further the profits of the nobility. The Alexandrian's plan worked, but only to a certain extent. The peasants and farmers revolted, managing to murder every member of the Noble Assembly in an event known as the Blue Blood Spill before the Emperor committed suicide. The heir, only twelve years old, was forced to compromise the Popular Reform of 420, which was eagerly accepted by the nobles that did not want to be wiped out by the Communists while dealing with a succession crisis. This reform effectively gave Commoners the right to representation in the State Council, which replaced the Noble Assembly as the main legislative body. In the years following the Communist Revolution, the Empire fell into a Civil War. Nobles tried to fight their neighbors for more titles and territories, or tried to secede from the Empire in order to maintain their noble rights as an independent Kingdom. However, the Civil War was interrupted by an Undead attack that scared most of the nobility back into the Commonwealth, as those that remained independent were too new and weak because of the Civil War and Revolution to survive. There has been relative political stability in the Empire since then, as the State Council claimed more and more emergency powers to establish a stronger government The Children's Inheritance Wars Following the events of the Blue Blood Spill, the greatest succession crisis in Monteverde history plagued the Empire. Facing imminent dishonor, the Emperor of the Commonwealth committed suicide and left the Empire to his twelve year old son. To prevent the death of his dynasty, the Child-Emperor declared that the Succession Crisis was a family matter between the nobility, and effectively pulled the Imperial Administration away from taking any sides in the conflicts. This gave the irrelevant members of noble families the opportunity to declare themselves the legitimate heir to their family titles, starting a series of civil wars between family members, uprisings among their vassals, and the reshaping of feudal borders as more stable houses invaded the territory of the infighting nobility. Eventually, noble houses started making alliances, and after a while, there would be only two left. This turned the Children's Inheritance Wars into a Civil War that threatened to either split the Empire in two or spell out the future of Monteverde politics. The Military Coup Politics The Monteverde central government is composed of the State Council, which is the legislative body which is responsible for Monteverde law and policy. In Monteverde, the Emperor sits at the top of the hierarchy, with the High Constable directly below him. The rest of the State Council sits below the High Constable. However, from that point on the government splits in two. First is the Noble's Assembly, which is basically a big social circle that includes all of the nobility of Monteverde. The Noble Assembly does not have any real legal power ever since the Communist Revolution, but is actually the easiest (or hardest) way to climb the social ladder and achieve funding. The Noble Assembly remains the principal advisory body for the State Council to this day, though in the days before the Communist Revolution, it was actually the main body of government. Second is the Governor's Chamber, which unlike the Noble Assembly carries real power. The Governor's Chamber is the social circle that is composed of the different regional governors. Governors only have power in their own territory, but are respected across the Empire for their political position. Though the Governors of each region are not necessarily vassals to nobility, is is often the bridge between noble and commoner politics, as nobles attempt to make deals with Governors to mutually expand their power. If played correctly, a small noble house may have as much political significance as a large noble house if they have the support of the different Governors. Economy Monteverde thrives off of a plantation-based, agricultural economy. Though they have been cut off from the rest of the world's international maritime trade due to Alexandria's embargo against what used to be their colonies, Monteverde has thrived by trading with the countries affected by the embargo. Monteverde has been primarily successful due to their trading food with independent minor city-states that cannot grow their own food due to being under constant attack by the undead that still linger after the days of the Green Death.